Bag opening process and machine, including movable bag opening arms



2,649,235 INCLUDING 3 Sheets-Sheet l H. A. EDMONDS MOVABLE BAG OPENING ARMS.

Aug. 18, 1953 BAG OPENING PROCESS AND MACHINE,

Filed NOV. l, 1949 Aug. 18, 1953 H. A. EDMoNDs BAG OPENING PROCESS AND MACHINE, INCLUDING MovABLE BAG OPENING ARMs Filed Nov. 1, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 f/ VNOR'Q/ BY OZT. 7:2072 s.

Aug. 18, 1953 H, A, EDMONDS 2,649,235

BAG OPENING PROCESS AND MACHINE, INCLUDING MOVABLE BAG OPENING ARMS Filed Nov. l, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENToR. Y #4m/. fdwoyga/s.

,QTTORNET' Patented Aug. 18, 1953 EAG. Gf PQCESS AND MACHINE, IN-

CUD

ov BAGOPENINGEMS Harvey A. Edmonds, Chicago, 1.1L.,Y ,assigner to `Swift & Company, Chittgo,y lll., a corporation of Illinois ,Application November 1, 1949, Serial No.. 124,807

` (o1. ,zeef-5:y

.Petitionen the foodindiistries it. .highly desirable from the standpoint of Sahita.. to handle the rood prodotte by methe eelieeihg is fully eornplete.. dure als .is ti' eiiehle .from the stend- 'oiA eonorny and sneed of Production ,readily apparent. that one of. the easiest ds of packaging `either Single unite or goede .t ins tthe .goods into. e nreformee e e. reiner.. ,meier Dreh-,lern thinv has contro. eti n, seeking to ,toont this method of packaging for avrrqmatic operationl is that ,of picking .1in the ,saekirom .e steels .Opening it, and, hoistingv .iti onen Proper Position ihr i111: ing,

The present invention het .for its primeira-1.

object the solvih, this Problem @machine eth1. y ye n .not .only een piel; up bag p peror-sim1lerh1eteriel .from the ton .or

the'. etlehnen .the nog and; position it ,for nil-ing hr or hr rheehihe, hilt in addition, it is adapted to hold the loagr open and ixedthat position for .sentient length ef time for .the n ine. ogeretion .tenere teiten riete- Furthertion oi he4 to. ,he paekegeii- The invention may be. agenten for the iiilihg of heee' ih eit er the retti-eel' or ,horizontal Position.

d vonal objects and advantagesV will become ,on lilith .the drawings. irl-'whithe- Figurei is elevaohel, view of' ein embodimentfer the. invention ,which tags ere to .he

filled `w'i'iile ih th rieti position with hefte of ,machine hielten "to better illustrate the-invention.

Figure 2 isen enlarged view .of theres-ongoing 13 i. i the ineehihefor. rerhovine the folded tags fr., steek, ther ofY Figure i is taten :line -e-A of Fige uref l',

Figure. 51s a. senor-1.o enihoiiiiheht which the bag is, here Yfor; filling .in a horieohtel nol and litigare` 6i isganv embodiment whieh the has is helcli for llingvwhiflain the: vert-ical position` .with theopeningat thetop. Y

rei; therneghine .allows ei'eietiverl @leer oath .eeress'to thek interior `oit-the heeief the ihsert mthego wing'descrlptiontaken in s .elevational View. of the. hert, oi a ted with the present invention with ease. Or @ourse should it he desi-r ble to do so, such additional steps een he eerforrnetl hy hand.

Finger feed The finger mechanism l5 for gripping the bag includes one or mor@ Ralrsof individual fingers I1 plvotally mounted with respect to a carrier, in the specic embodiment a supporting arm. i8, by means of shafts I9. .Intermeshed gear Siege ments 2i). are adapted tobevmoved simultaneously with individual fingers il to4 Cause the fingers to move nglmson. 'The mountingl of the ngers I7: and 4gear' segments 2o. may be such 'that they are .each attached to.r shafts i9 with the shafts joui-'naked in supporting arm I8, or the fingers il may be aitlxecl to respective gear segments 2i) and the finger and gear segment journaled on shaft lil. ln the present instance, the gear seg ments 2.0 and lingers Il are each lxecl to the shaft 139. and the. shaft journalecl` in the support.- ing arm. L8. Finger tips 2l are mounted. soy as not torcome tightlytogelher as the lingers L5 vclose over a bag. The ringer tips21l function. to guide the moutlrof the bag in the proper direction,

A lever 22 also is, attached to one 0f shafts L9 and positionedK so that the, level* will be .l'llOVei backV and forth aoross-thelongitudinal center line of supporting arm le asnngers. t5 are opened or closed. A pin zeisairxed to supnortingenn `l t, and. a pin 2.4' is axed- 12,0, lever 2,2 with tension springl 215i interconnecting M1152@` Eind .2dr 19,9@-

J much as the spring will be extended each time lever.` 2:2 rotates aorossthe longitudinal centerline of supporting arm yihthe spring insures that. the fingers lil; will remain open or closed until a suit.-v able fonce` isy applied to.r pivot lever 2 2., which pivotal movement is transmitted to theother of thepairof lingers through gear segments 20.

A `pair .of pins `261s attaohedtoeach of indyid.- ual: fingers. I l nsuch, a position that as the. lingers come` together thel loagy will; be tightly squeezed between the two pins and prevent any eir from passing into the interior of the bag. The function and action of pins 26 will be described hereinafter in greater detail.

Supporting arm I8 is pivotally mounted by shaft 2, and the pivotal movement is controlled from shaft 28 by means of a crank 29 thereon and a connecting rod 39 between crank 29 and supporting arm I8. a motor 3 I, are incorporated to cause rotation of shaft 28.

Before the supporting arm I8 is rotated downwardly, the fingers I'I will have been closed on a bag and lever 22 will be pivoted forwardly (to the left in Fig. 1) of the longitudinal center line of supporting arm I8, as shown in the second from the bottom of the alternate positions of arm I8 in Fig. 1. As arm I8 approaches its lower terminus, the lever 22 comes into contact with an adjustable stop 33 to pivot the lever 22 backwardly across the longitudinal center line of supporting arm i6 sufficiently to enable spring 25 to open the fingers. The point at which this action takes place may be varied by adjusting the projecting length of stop 33. Suitable means, such as pin 34 on arm I6, is provided to limit the rotation of lever 22, shaft I9, and fingers II.

As supporting arm I8 subsequently is pulled upwardly, the fingers II remain open with lever 22 ahead (to the right) of the longitudinal center line of arm I8, as shown in the uppermost of the alternate positions of arm I8 in Fig. 1. As arm I6 approaches the upward terminus, a second adjustable stop 35 is contacted by lever 22, again pushing lever 22 across the longitudinal center line of supporting arm I8 and closing fingers I'I with a snap about a folded bag 36 which had been positioned within the path of the fingers as hereinafter explained.

Bag separation The mechanism for lifting a bag from a suitable stack and holding it in proper position to be grasped by fingers I'I as they are closed at the upward terminus includes an arm 38 pivotally mounted by shaft 39 and having a vacuum cup 48 at the outer end thereof (see Fig. 3). Through the rotation of shaft 39 the vacuum cup is raised and lowered from the supply of bags in a magazine 4I. Shaft 39 is rotated and maintained in proper synchronization with the movement of supporting arm I8 by means of a chain 43 interconnecting sprocket 44 on shaft 39 and sprocket 45 on shaft 121. Through this interconnection, the vacuum cup 40 is timed to align bag 36 within the approaching open fingers II as arm I8 moves towards an upward position, and after supporting arm I8 moves downwardly, the vacuum cup 40 is brought into contact with the upper bag in magazine 4I to obtain a new bag to be gripped by fingers I'I and moved to the opening arm mechanism I6.

Vacuum cup 48 is connected to a suitable vacuum source by means of a flexible pipe or hose 46. A cam-actuated valve 4'I is interposed in line 46 between the vacuum source and cup 49. Valve 4I is operated by means of a cam 48 on shaft 28 and is timed by the position of the cam 48 so that the vacuum of the cup will be broken as supporting arm I8 reaches its upper. terminus and fingers I'I are closed over bag 36. The vacuum remains cut off until the supporting arm I8 has proceeded downwardly a suiiicient distance for bag 36 to clear vacuum cup 48, after which time the vacuum to the cup is again restored so that as the cup is brought into contact Suitable means, includingV 4 with the upper bag in magazine 4I a pickup will be made.

To assist the vacuum cup 40 in picking up a single bag from the top of the stack in magazine 4I, an air jet 5I is provided to which air is supplied through pipe 52; the air being released from jet 5I along the edge of thebags in magazine 4I acts to riiile the bags, to assist in separating the individual bags and to insure that the vvacuum cup acquires a bag for loading. If de- Bag opening head The action of the bag opening arm mechanism I6 is initiated by the approach of supporting arm I8 to its lower position. As the supporting arm I8 approaches the lower position a pair of bag opening arms 59 and 62 of arm mechanism I6 initially are closed as illustrated in solid lines in Figs. 1 and 2, and present a chisel or wedge shaped point 54 aligned with the line of movement of the bag 36. The necessity for such alignment will be readily apparent inasmuch as the object is to slip the closed bag over the point of the opening arm mechanism I6. The alignment is not too critical because of the action of the air blast in opening of the mouth of the bag.

As the bag 36 held by fingers I'I approaches the opening arm mechanism I6, a jet of air is projected upwardly from the ends of individual arms 59 and 62 of opening arm mechanism I6. This air jet is released through ports 66 and 61 in arms 59 and 62, respectively, and passes up along the plane of intersection of the two individual arms 59 and 62.

The timing of the air release is achieved through the use of a valve 68 actuated by a cam 69 on a shaft 28. From valve 68 a first pipe 'I8 leads to a source of air pressure, and a flexible pipe or hose 'II connects from timing valve 68 through a control valve 'I2 to suitable connections with the axial bores in arms 59 and 62 to transmit the air to ports 66 and 6'I. Valve 'I2 permits control of the quantity of air to be released from ports 66 and 61.

As has previously been explained, the bag 36 is tightly gripped by pins 26 with nger tips 2I being spaced a slight distance apart and serving primarily as guides. The upwardly projecting air blast from opening arm mechanism I6 enters the open end of the bag which at this time isy pointed in a downward direction. The air is trapped inthe front of the bag because of the grip maintained by pins 26 and causes extreme turbulence in the portion of the bag forwardly of those pins. This turbulence spreads the mouth of the bag so that the mouth of the bag slips easily over opening arm mechanism I6, even though the end of the arm mechanism I6 does not come to a sharp'point.

After supporting arm I8 has proceeded suiiiciently far downwardly for the fingers to slide the unsealed front of the bag well over the chisel point 54 of the mechanism I6, a bumper 55 on arm I8 contacts actuating lever 56 affixed to shaft 51 to open the arm mechanism I6.

A gear segment 58 and an individual arm 59 are also affixed to shaft 5'! which is journaled for rotation in the sub-frame 66. The other individual arm 62 of arm mechanism I6 is affixed to shaft 63, the latter being also journaled in subframe 60. A second gear segment 64 is attached to shaft 63 and meshes with gear segment ,'58 on shaft 51. As actuating lever 56 is pushed downwardly by bumper 55, shaft 5l is rotated in a clockwise direction and shaft 63 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction to spread individual arms 59 and 62. The timing of the movement of arm mechanism t6 may be adjusted by varying the projecting length of bumper 55. As has previously been explained, stop 33 acts at substantially the same time to open iinger mechanism l5.

As actuating lever 55 is moved downwardly by bumper 55 it is latched by a catch le held over lever 56 by the action of spring 'l5 and connecting rod 16. As arm I8 starts back upwardly the bag which has been opened by arm mechanism IG is lheld open and securely in place as is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. When opened the individual arms 59 and 62 allow suicient space between their inner faces for convenient insertion of the material to be 'placed in the bag. If the whole of the bag has not been fully opened by the action of the opening arm mechanism le in opening the mouth of the bag, the remainder oi the bag may be pushed open by the insertion of the desired lling material into the bag. Suitable grippers are provided to hold the bag in place so that the action of the filling material entering the bag will not pull the bag loose from opening arm mechanism it.

Resiliently actuated grippers i3 and l cooperate with arms 59 and G2 respectively to hold the bag securely in place as it is being filled. Grippers 'FS and 'IS are pivotally mounted on shafts 51 and 63 respectively. As shown in Fig. 2, a rod 86 attached to opening arm t2 -by bolt 8l extends freely through an opening in the lower end of gripper 18. A compression spring 83 is abutted against the face of gripper at one end and stop nuts 89 at the other end. Stop nuts 9i on rod 86 butt against the outer face of the lower end of gripper la,

As the lower end of opening arm E2 moves to the right, rod 85 through stop nuts S9 and spring 88 pivots gripper 'FB counterclockwise to take hold of the bag. A. similar mechanism about rod 92 operates gripper i9 in response to movements of opening arm 59.

The opened bag held by arm mechanism IS may be lled during the period of timethat sup porting arm it is rotating upwardly. As the arm I8 approaches an upward position the forward edge of the arm contacts a pin Bil on lever 3l causing Vthat lever to rotate about a suitable mounting pin 52. The rotation of lever Si results in a similar rotation of catch M, through the interconnection provided by connecting rod '16, and releases actuating lever 56 to allow tension springV 34, between the lower end of indiu vidual arm 59 and sub-frame 55, to rotate arms 59 and r62 toward the closed position. The closing of Vthe bag opening arm mechanism l5 releases the iilled bag which then may be removed either byhand or by suitable machinery.

Figure 5 illustrates a second embodiment in which the bag A is opened and held in a horizontal` position for-filling. The only substantial difference in the operation of the embodiment of Figure 5 and that of Figure l is that lsupporting "arm 18A Aof Figurey 5 moves a relatively short distance as comparedV to the movement of supporting arm I8 of Figure l.V Asa result', the movement of supporting arm ISA must be some'- what slower as compared to the movements of thev co-operating parts, suchvas lifting arm 38A 4and opening arm mechanism lA.

-' Figure 6 illustrates the manner in which the present invention may be adapted to open and hold bags for filling in a vertical position with the mouth of the bag upwardly. The operation of the various parts, such as supporting arm IBB,

nger mechanism |513, opening arm mechanism ISB, and lifting. arm mechanism 38B is substane tially identical to that of the corresponding parts of Figure l and additional description is believed to be unnecessary.

The description of specific embodiments of the invention is made to comply with the provisions of Section 4888 of the Revised Statutes and, because it will call attention to a number of additional uses and embodiments of the invention, it should not be construed as applying any unnecessary limitations to the appended claims. For example, the bag might be a tube-like element, sealed at one end, and yet certain of the teachings of the invention might be applicable thereto.

I claim:

l. In a device of the class described, a pair of fingers, means to move said fingers along a predetermined path from a nrst to a second point, means adjacent the iirst point to insert a bag between the iingers with the one end thereof directed along said path towards said second point and to close said iingers against said bag, each of said iingers including a finger tip, means to the rear of said finger tips to tightly grip the bag and to prevent air entering the mouth of said bag from passing to the rear of the bag', said nger tips and said last mentioned means being so positioned with respect to each other that the finger tips will be spaced apart when said fingers are closed over a bag, and means at said second point to open said bag and hold it in position for filling including a pair of arms tting together to form an opener intersecting said path to penetrate the open endv of the bag as the latter is moved to said second point by said fingers, a port through which the air may be released to enter the mouth of said bag as it approaches said opener whereby said air will be trapped within the mouth of said bag thereby spreading the mouth to allow the bag to slip over the opener, and means to separate said arms to open the mouth of said bag.

2.l A method of opening a folded paper bag, or the like, said method including the steps of applying pressure to each side of the bag substantially across the width thereof a fraction of the length of the bag below the mouth thereof, said pressures each being toward the other to provide a seal across the bag, directing a jet of air at the mouth of the bag to spread the lips of the bag, inserting a pair of arms within the spread lips and moving the arms outwardly to further open the mouth of the bag, releasing said pressure,

and continuing to move said arms outwardly tocomplete the opening of the bag.

3. A bag-opening device, including a frame, a carrier movably mounted on said frame, a pair of fingers pivotally mounted on said carrier for movement by the carrier vfrom a rst to a second point, means interconnecting said nngers for movement in unison, a pivoted lever on said carrier and operatively connected to said means and iingers, said lever being pivotable from a first position wherein said ngers are closed to a second position wherein said fingers are open, spring means connected to said lever urging said lever into either said first or said second position from an intermediate position, a bumper attached to said frame and adjacent said rst point to contact said lever and to pivot it from.

the second to the first position, a second bumper attached to said frame and adjacent said second point to contact said lever and to pivot it from the iirst to the second position, power-driven means to move said carrier and fingers from said first to said second point, and return, and to bring said lever into contact with said bumpers whereby said iingers will be closed as they move from said first to said second point and open as they move from said second to said rst point, means adjacent the first point to insert a bag between the fingers with the open end of the bag directed along the path of movement of the fingers toward the second point, and means adjacent said second point to enter the open end of the bag and to open the bag.

4. A bag-opening device, including a frame, a carrier1 movably mounted on said frame, a pair of fingers pivotally mounted on said carrier for movement by the carrier from a first to a second point, means interconnecting said fingers for movement in unison, a pivoted lever on said carrier and operatively connected to said means and ingers, said lever being pivotable from a first position wherein said fingers are closed to a second position wherein said fingers are open, spring means connected to said lever urging said lever into either said first or said second position from an intermediate position, a bumper attached to said frame and adjacent said first point to contact said lever and to pivot it from the second to the first position, a second bumper attached to said frame and adjacent said second point to contact said lever and to pivot it from the first to the second position, power-driven means to move said carrier and ngers from said rst to said second point, and return, and to bring said lever into contact with said bumpers whereby said iingers will be closed as they move from said first to said second point and open as they move from said second to said rst point, means adjacent the first point to insert a bag between the fingers with the open end of the bag directed along the path of movement of the fingers toward the second point, a pair of arms pivotally attached to said frame with the ends of said arms fitting together to form a chiselpointed opener when in a closed position, means interconnecting said arms for movement in unison to an open position whereat said ends have spread apart, a pivoted lever operatively connected to said last mentioned means and arms, resilient means urging said arms toward said closed position, and a bumper on said carrier and positioned to contact said last mentioned lever as said fingers move to said second point to pivot said lever and to move said arms from said closed to said open position.

5. A bag-opening device including a frame, a carrier movably mounted on said frame, a pair of ngers on said carrier for movement by the carrier from a first to a second point, means adjacent the first point to insert a bag between the fingers and to close the lingers against the sides of the bag, means to move the carrier with the open end of said bag forward towards said second point, and return, means adjacent said second point to release said fingers from said bag, a pair of arms pivotally attached to said frame with the ends of said arms iitting together to form a chisel-pointed opener when in a closed position, means interconnecting said arms for movement in unison to an open position whereat said ends have spread apart, a pivoted lever operatively connected to said last mentioned means and arms, resilient means urging said arms toward said closed position, and a bumper on said carrier positioned to contact said lever as said fingers move to said second point to pivot said lever and to move said arms from said closed to said open position.

6. A bag-opening device including a frame, a carrier movably mounted on said frame, a pair of fingers on said carrier for movement by the carrier from a rst to a second point, means adjacent the first point to insert a bag between the fingers and to close the ngers against the sides of the bag, means to move the carrier with the open end of said bag forward towards said second point, and return, means adjacent said second point to release said fingers from said bag, a pair of arms pivotally attached to said frame with the ends of said arms fitting together to form a chisel-pointed opener when in a closed position, means interconnecting said arms for movement in unison to open position whereat said ends have spread apart, a pivoted lever operatively connected to said last mentioned means and arms, resilient means urging said arms toward said closed position, a bumper on said carrier positioned to contact said lever as said fingers move to said second point to pivot said lever and to move said arms from said closed to said open position, a latch to hold said arms in said open position, and means to release said latch as said carrier moves said fingers to said first point.

7. In a device of the class described, a frame, a carrier movably mounted on said frame, a pair of fingers mounted on said carrier with the -tips of the ngers movable toward and away from each other to permit bags to be inserted therebetween and the fingers to be closed against the sides of the bags, power means connected to said carrier to move the fingers on the carrier along a predetermined path from a iirst to a second point, means adjacent the first point to insert a bag between the fingers with the open end of the bags forward toward said second point and to close the fingers against the sides of the bag, pointed means attached to said frame and positioned with the point thereof in said path between said first and second points and directed toward said first point whereby as said fingers move toward said second point with the bagtherebetween the open end of the bag will be slipped over said pointed means, said pointed means including two separable portions and means to move said portions apart after said bag has been slipped over said point, and means adjacent said second point to release said bag from said nger tips after the bag has been slipped over said pointed means.

8.. In a device of the class described, a frame, a carrier movably mounted on said frame, a pair of fingers mounted on said carr-ier with the tips of the fingers movable toward and away from each other to permit bags to be inserted between the fingers and the iingers to be closed against the sides of the bags, power means connected to said carrier to move the fingers on the carrier along a predetermined path from a rst to a second point, means adjacent the first point to insert a bag between the fingers with the open end of the bag forward toward said second point and to close the fingers against the sides of the bag, 2 pair of arms the ends of which iit together to form a chisel-pointed opener, said arms being movably mounted so that said ends thereof may be spread apart, said arms being positioned on said frame with the chisel point thereof in said path between said first and second points and directed toward said first point whereby as said ngers move toward said second point with a bag therebetween the open end of the bag will be slipped over said point, means to move said arms apart after the bag has been slipped thereover whereby the sides of the bag will be spread apart by the movement of the arms, and means adjacent said second point to move said finger tips apart to release the bag after the bag has been slipped over said pointed means.

9. In a device of the class described, a frame, an arm pivotally mounted on said frame, a pair of fingers mounted on said arm with the tips of the ngers movable toward and away from each other to permit bags to be inserted therebetween and the fingers to be closed against the sides of the bags, power means connected to said arm to pivot the arm to move the fingers along a predetermined path from a first to a second point, means adjacent the first point to insert a bag therebetween the fingers with the open end of the bag forward toward said second point and to close the ngers against the sides of the bag, a pair of arms movably mounted on said frame, the ends of said pair of arms tting together to form a chisel-pointed opener, said ends being movable away from each other, said pair of arms being positioned on said frame with said chisel point thereof in said path between said first and second points and directed toward said rst point whereby as said lingers move toward said second point with the bag therebetween the open end of the bag will Ibe slipped over said chisel point, said arms having ports directed to release fluid therefrom along said path toward said first point whereby fluid from said ports will spread the mouth of the approaching bag, means to move said ends of said arms apart `after said bag has been slipped oversaid arms, and means adjacent said second point to move said finger tips apart to release the bag after the bag has been slipped over said arms.

10. In a device of the class described, a frame, an arm pivotally mounted on said frame, a pair of fingers mounted on said arm with the tips of the fingers movable toward and away from each other to permit -bags to be inserted therebetween and the finger-s to be closed against the sides of the bags, power means connected to said arm to pivot the arm to move the fingers along a predetermined path from a first to a second point, means adjacent the rst point to insert a bag therebetween the fingers with the open end of the bag forward toward said second point and to close the fingers against the sides of the bag, a pair of arms movably mounted on said frame, the ends of said pair of arms fitting together to form a chisel-pointed opener, said ends being movable away from each other, said pair of arms being positioned on said frame with said chisel point thereof in said path between said first and second points and directed toward said first point whereby as said fingers move toward said second point with the bag therebetween the open end of the bag will be slipped over said chisel point, said arms having ports directed to release iiuid therefrom along said path toward said iirst point whereby fluid from said ports will spread the mouth of the approaching bag, means to move said ends of said arms apart after said bag has been slipped over said arms, means adjacent said second point to move said finger tips apart to release the bag after the bag has been slipped over said arms, and means to bring said pair of arms together to release said open bag subsequent to the release of said fingers from said bag.

l1. In a device of the class described, a frame, a carrier movably mounted on said frame, a pair of fingers mounted on said carrier with the tips of the fingers movable toward and away from each other to permit bags to be inserted between the fingers and the fingers to be closed against the sides of the bags, power means connected to said carrier to move the linger-s on the carrier along a predetermined path from a first to a second point, means adjacent lthe first point to insert a bag between the iingers and to close the fingers against the sides of the bag, a pair of arms the ends of which fit together to form a chiselpointed opener, said arms being movably mounted so that said ends thereof may be spread apart, said arms being positioned on said frame with the chisel point thereof in said path between said -iirst and second points and directed toward said rst point whereby as said fingers move toward said second point with a bag therebetween the open end of the `bag will be slipped over said pointed means, means to move said arms apart after the bag has been slipped thereover whereby the sides of the bag will be spread apart by the movement of the arms, means adjacent said second point to move said finger tips apart to release the bag after the bag has been slipped over said pointed means, and a pair of grippers attached to said frame and positioned to cooperate with said arms to hold a bag for filling after the bag has been opened by the arms.

12. A method of preparing a folded paper bag, or the like, for filling, said method including the steps of applying pressure to each side of the bag substantially across the width thereof a fraction of the length of the bag below the mouth thereof, said pressures each 'being toward the other to provide a seal across the bag, directing a jet of air at the mouth of the bag to spread the lips of the bag, inserting a pair of arms within the spread'lips and moving the arms outwardly to further open the mouth of the bag, releasing said pressure, continuing to move said arms outwardly to complete the opening of the bag, and grasping the walls of the bag adjacent the mouth thereof to hold the bag in position for lling.

HARVEY A. EDMONDS.

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